Vending machine service tray



H. E. NELSON VENDING MACHINE SERVICE TRAY March 10, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 8, 1962 March 10, 1964 Filed May 8, 1962 H. E- NELSON VENDING MACHINE SERVICE TRAY 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. HAROLD NELSON United States Patent 3,124,400 VENDING MACHINE SERVICE TRAY Harold E. Nelson, Lombard, Ill., assignor to Automatic Canteen Company of America, Chicago, III., a corporation of Delaware Filed May 8, 1962, Ser. No. 193,2ti8 7 Claims. (6!. 312-281) This invention relates generally to an improvement in vending machines and more specifically to a tray device which is utilized in conjunction therewith.

Heretofore, automatic merchandising machines, or as they are more commonly called, vending machines, were utilized to dispense, for example, candy, gum and nuts. Where beverages were dispensed, they were usually made available in bottle form.

In the last few years, the automatic merchandising industry has had a relatively large growth due to the fact that more varied types of items were automatically dispensed. These items include hot meals, soups, salads, hot and cold drinks in cup form, and the like. As a result, it has become common for an individual to purchase his whole meal from a congregated group of vending machines.

However, in many cases, the customer found it quite diflicult to operate certain vending machines when he was already in possession of previously purchased items. That is, it was difficult to insert ones change, press the selector, open a door or other lock mechanism, and remove the purchased item from the machine while all the time holding the previously purchased items in the other hand. This system resulted in a considerable amount of fumbling and/ or actually spilling of liquids or dropping of other items. I have attempted to overcome this problem through the use of a shelf which is removably attached to the vending machine itself. The shelf used must, in addition to serving as a temporary depositing placed for purchased items, be of such a nature that it will not complicate the cleaning of the front of the machine. It is my belief that my invention successfully overcomes this apparent dichotomy.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a tray assembly which is uniquely adaptable for use with an automatic merchandising machine.

Another object is to provide a tray assembly which in one position may be utilized to rest purchased items thereon and which in another position lies substantially flush against the face of the vending machine.

Another object is to provide a tray which is easily removed from the vending machine.

A further object is to provide a tray assembly which is functionally well suited to vending machine use and which is aesthetically pleasing.

A still further object of certain embodiments of this invention is to provide a tray assembly which may be utilized to support a plurality of other trays which are removable from the tray assembly and from the machine.

Other objects and advantages of my invention will be apparent from the following description of the preferred embodiments of the invention taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the improved tray assembly in combination with a vending machine.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the tray of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a partially cut away view in side elevation of the tray assembly and a portion of the vending machine with the former in normal position.

FIG. 4 is a partial view of FIG. 3 showing the tray in an intermediate position.

FIG. 5 is a view similar to that of FIG. the tray assembly in lowered position.

3 showing front and back walls 6 and 7, respectively.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a modified tray assembly in combination with a portion of a vending machine.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of another modified tray assembly in combination with a portion of a vending machine.

FIG. 8 is a view taken along lines -88 of FIG. 3 with a portion of the tray removed.

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 but taken from the bottom of the assembly.

FIG. 10 is a view taken along the lines 10-10 of FIG. 9.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, there is shown a coin operated vending machine 1 having opposed side walls 2 and 3, top and bottom walls 4 and 5, respectively, and For the pur poses of this invention, a beverage vending machine is shown although other and varied vending machines will s-ufiice equally well. The device 1 has a conventional coin slot '8 and a slug or change return slot 9 in the front wall 6 thereof. Selector buttons lti are also positioned on a control panel on the face of the machine. A recessed dispensing shelf 11 extends rearwardly of the wall 6 and a movable door 12 which may be transparent serves to enclose the front of the shelf 11. The door 12 is shown in its raised position and a beverage cup 13 is shown resting on the shelf 11 ready to be removed therefrom.

In operation, subsequent to insertion of the correct value of coin(s), the cup would be automatically dropped to a position upon the shelf 11 and thence syrup, carbonated water, etc., would be dispensed into the so positioned cup. The mechanism for accomplishing this are not shown, however, in order to shorten the disclosure and to facilitate the understanding thereof.

Positioned directly in front of the dispensing shelf 11 is a tray or shelf assembly indicated generally as 14. The tray assembly 14- is shown in its normal or operating position in FIG. 1 and has a substantially planar support surface 15 which is bounded on all sides by a raised guard portion 16. The guard portion 16 immediately adjacent the vending machine wall 6 is positioned in such a manner with respect thereto that a cup may be slidably removed from the shelf 11, slid over the portion 16, and onto the planar support surface 15.

Referring now to FIGURES 3-5, the underside of the planar support surface 15 has a relatively flat plate 17 affixed thereto as by the use of spaced apart fastening means '18 which may be rivets or screws. :Positioned centrally of the plate 17 and extending in a transverse direction to the major axis thereof is a channel shaped guide member 19 which may be integral with or affixed to the underside of the plate 17. The ends of the channel side walls are bent inwardly at 19 (FIG. 10) and extend inwardly toward one another in parallel relation to the web of the channel member 19. While the portions 19' are shown as extending for the entire length of the channel member 19 (FIG. 9), it is possible and within the purview of this invention to utilize a series of inwardly extending portions spaced apart from one another along the length of the channel member. A raised abutmerit 20 is positioned in the web of channel member 19 (-FIG. 5) for reasons which will be subsequently explained.

Afi-ixed to the front 6 of the vending machine 1 is a tray support member indicated generally at 21 (FIG. 3). The support 21 has a relatively elongate portion 22 which has an aperture 23 therethrough for the reception of fastening means 24 which serves to fasten the support to the front of the vending machine. The rear of the portion 22 is substantially flat so as to lie flush with the front 6 of the vending machine. The front of the portion 22 is 3 generally ourvate and serves to provide a projecting top projecting top portion 125 which extends outwardly from the remainder of the front of portion 22.

The upper end of portion 22 is channel shaped in crosssection (FIG. 8) and is formed with a pair of rails 26 which extend outwardly from the sides of the channel. The rails are slightly aslant to one another with the greatest distance therebetween occurring near the front 6 of the vending machine. The rails 26 are adapted at their point of greatest convergence to be received within the channel shaped guideway 19 (on the underside of the planar support surface) underneath the inwardly extending portions 12'. At the point of greatest divergence between the rails 26, the dimension therebetween is larger than the dimension between the sides of the channel member 19. As a result, inward travel (toward the vending machine) of the guideway 19, etc., over the rails 26 is relatively limited. The outer end of the projecting portion 25 is bifurcated and a pivot pin 27 is mounted thereon between the channel side walls.

The second component of the tray support member 21 is a channel shaped member 28 which is mounted at 29 to the pivot 27. It can thus be seen that the member 23 is rotatable with respect to member 22. The sides of the channel member 28 are flared outwardly so as to provide two spaced apart rails 30 which are adapted to be received within the channel shaped guideway 19 and underneath the inwardly extending portions 12'. The rails 30 on member 28 and the rails 25 on member 22 are substantially in line with one another and form continuous spaced apart tracks when the members 23 and 22 are in the position shown in FIG. 3. Therefore, the guide member 19 and the support surface 15 are capable of inward movement toward the front 6 of the vending machine over the rails 30 and 26 until the divergence of rails 26 prohibits further inward travel. The point where no further inward travel is permitted occurs when the raised guard portion 16' on the planar support is just in, or short of, abutment with the face 6 of the vending machine.

To aifix the device to a vending machine, the member 22 would first be attached by way of fastening means 24 to the frontal portion 6 of a vending machine. The channel guide member 19 on the underside of the tray would then be inserted over the spaced apart rails 30 on the member 28 and allowed to slide downwardly thereon until the abutments 20 in the web of member 19 contacted a transverse end portion 31 of member 28, thereby precluding further downward movement thereof. The assembly would then be in the full line position of FIG. 5. The preparatory position is indicated by the dotted lines in (FIG. 5.

When the device is in the (full line position of FIG. 5,

the member 28 and the tray are rotated with respect to the member 22 so that the spaced apart rails 30 and the spaced apart rails 26 are substantially in line with one another (FIG. 4). The tray and the channel 19 are then moved inwardly over the rails. Inward movement of the tray is finally impeded due to the binding that takes place between the member 19 and the divergent rails 26. However, this binding will not occur until the channel member 19 is positioned over the point of pivotal attachment between the members 28 and 22. Hence, until the member 19 and tray, etc., are removed from the position indicated in FIG. 3, no relative motion between the members 22 and 28 is possible. H While I prefer to utilize divergent guideways 26 to stop the inward travel of the tray toward the vending machine and to serve as a force fit type lock, it would be possible to dispense with this arrangement and latch the tray directly to the front of the vending machine. With this arrangement, a bumper would have to be provided on the front of the machine so that the finish thereon would not be damaged by virtue of the tray slamming against the front of the machine. This arrangement is not shown, however, to simplify this description.

A bumper 35 is shown on the underside of member 28 so that when the device is moved into its lowered position (FIG. 5), the member 28 will not slam up against the member 22. It can thus be seen that during peak hours of vending machine usage, that the tray assembly can be positioned as in 3 and is available to either temporarily support already purchased items and/ or to serve as a support for items concurrently purchased. At other times, the assembly can either be positioned as in FIG. 5 or the planar support surface can be completely removed, thereby leaving only the collapsed members 23 and 22 on the front of the machine. This latter arrangement facilitates cleaning and servicing of the vending machines.

In FIG. 6, a slightly modified planar support is utilized which is similar in all respects to the previously described device except that the raised guard portion 16' has been removed to permit a cup '13 to be slid directly from the shelf I1 onto the planar support 15. The effect of this embodiment is to provide a removable extension of the cup support shelf 11.

In FIG. 7, a slightly modified assembly is shown which includes the tray support member '21 previously described. However, a fiat member 36 is aifixed to the channel shaped guide 19 in place of the flat plate 17 shown in FIG. 3. The member 36 has elongate portions 37 extending upwardly from the sides and back thereof. The upper portions of members 37 are provided with an inwardly extending U-shaped member 38 which may be integral with members 37 or afiixed thereto. A plurality of separate carrying trays 33 are positioned atop one another within the members 37 and below the U-shaped member 38. Each of the trays is removable from between the members 37 so that the tray may be carried away from the vending installation.

This embodiment has the particular function of serving as a support for a plurality of trays. While it is not shown for the sake of concisen'ess, the embodiment of FIG. 7 could be provided with a spring seated in member 36 to upwardly urge all of the trays so that the uppermost tray would always be in position to easily accommodate items removed from the vending machine 6. The embodiment could also be provided with a latch member extending upwardly from the base member 36 intermediate the ends thereof so as to prevent more than one tray at a time from being removed from the device and to serve additionally to prevent the trays from falling out of the device when the support member is broken down.

The described invention and the embodiments thereof described fulfill a need that has existed in the vending in dustry for some time and provides a versatile, simple and strong support which'may be detached at will from the vending machine.

While three particular embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications can be made therefrom without departing from the invention and, therefore, it is intended for the appended claims to cover all such changes and modifications as fall within the true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In combination, a vending machine having a discharge opening and a tray assembly, said tray assembly having a first member aflixed to said vending machine below said discharge opening, a second member pivotally attached to said first member, a tray member removably attached to said second member and engageable with said first member to prevent relative motion between said first and second members, said tray member when in engagement with said first member presenting a substantially horizontal surface directly below and exterior to said discharge opem'ng.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said tray member has a raised peripheral guard portion therearound to prevent the items deposited on said tray member from sliding thereofi".

3. The combination of claim 1 wherein said tray member is bounded on all but the side in closest proximity to said vending machine by a raised guard portion to prevent items deposited on said tray from sliding thereofl and to facilitate removal of items from said discharge opening to said tray member.

4. In combination, a vending machine having a discharge portion, and a magazine assembly, :said magazine assembly having a first member affixed to said vending machine below said discharge portion, a second member pivotally attached to said first member, a magazine member removably attached to said second member and engageable with said first member to prevent relative motion between said first and second members, said magazine member having a basal portion and a plurality of upstanding sides and adapted to contain a plurality of individually removable carrying trays adjacent said discharge portion.

5. In combination, a vending machine having a discharge portion, and a tray assembly, said tray assembly having a first member affixed to said vending machine, a second member pivotally attached to said first member, a tray member having a support surface and a planar member affixed to the underside thereof, a channel member affixed to said planar member, said channel member being engageable with said first and second member so as to prevent rotation between said first and second member, to thereby horizontally position said tray member support surface in close proximity to said vending machine adjacent the lower edge of said discharge portion, whereby to provide a landing surface for articles removed from said discharge portion.

6. In a machine for vending articles of merchandise, wherein said machine has a discharge opening for dispensing vended articles within which there is a flat, substantially horizontal shelf for retaining thereon dispensed articles; the combination comprising a tray assembly and structure for mounting said assembly externally on said machine, said mounting structure including a first member mounted on the machine below said discharge opening and a second member pivotally mounted on said first member, said tray assembly including a tray mechanism, means in said second member cooperatively engaging said tray mechanism to retain the tray mechanism thereon, and means on said tray mechanism for engaging said first member to align the upper surface of said tray mechanism in substantially horizontal, supported alignment with the shelf in said machine opening.

7. In a machine as claimed in claim 6, said tray mechanism means comprising spaced-apart rails, a guide track forming extremities of said first member, said rail member slideable along said guide track, and in which said guide track extremities are flared outwardly toward said machine to a distance greater than the space between said rails whereby to arrest movement of said tray mechanism toward said machine past a predetermined point.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,853,197 Zeglis Sept. 23, 1958 2,905,424 Snow Sept. 22, 1959 2,940,717 Sheaifer June 14, 1960 2,995,257 DAnka Aug. 8, 1961 

1. IN COMBINATION, A VENDING MACHINE HAVING A DISCHARGE OPENING AND A TRAY ASSEMBLY, SAID TRAY ASSEMBLY HAVING A FIRST MEMBER AFFIXED TO SAID VENDING MACHINE BELOW SAID DISCHARGE OPENING, A SECOND MEMBER PIVOTALLY ATTACHED TO SAID FIRST MEMBER, A TRAY MEMBER REMOVABLY ATTACHED TO SAID SECOND MEMBER AND ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID FIRST MEMBER TO PREVENT RELATIVE MOTION BETWEEN SAID FIRST AND SECOND MEMBERS, SAID TRAY MEMBER WHEN IN ENGAGEMENT WITH SAID FIRST MEMBER PRESENTING A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL SURFACE DIRECTLY BELOW AND EXTERIOR TO SAID DISCHARGE OPENING. 